Realizing the Real-Time Benefits of BIM
JCB is a general contractor specializing in construction management for a wide range of industrial, commercial, multi-residential, and institutional clients.
Canadian Contractor Puts Collaboration Tech to Work on High Profile Retail Block Store Project
JCB Construction Canada (JCB) deployed Revizto during the construction of a 35,000-square foot European-style food hall, part of the $7 billion Royalmount Mall project in Montreal, Canada. With the technology, the team was able to work closely with engineers and designers to solve issues onsite with speed and clarity, keeping this fast-track project on schedule and saving considerable costs.
This is a tool that truly has a positive impact on a project. I believe that every major project we undertake with BIM would benefit from being done with Revizto.
About JCB Construction Canada
With offices in Montreal and Toronto, JCB is a general contractor that specializes in construction management. The firm services include expansions, renovations, redevelopments, and new construction projects for a wide range of industrial, commercial, multi-residential, and institutional clients.
A Coordination Adjustment
JCB prides itself on its technology forward approach to construction. The leadership strongly believes that a dollar invested in construction technology is a dollar that translates into better productivity, higher quality work, and accelerated schedules.
At the core of this technology-centric project delivery is building information modeling (BIM), which is regularly used to visualize, simulate and optimize designs within a highly collaborative workflow. When the firm’s project team’s noted that its model coordination tools were not working as well as expected, they began to look for other options.
As one JCB leader noted, “Navigation was difficult and clash detection was completely nonexistent. We had to do our checks manually. Tagging and assigning issues wasn’t great either.”
When one of its subcontractors recommended Revizto, JCB project teams set out to see how this 2D and 3D BIM collaboration platform could improve its current workflow.
Very often 3D models are managed more manually, by floor, by district, but never with the rules like those we use in Revizto, which allow us to detect clashes as we go along and get quantities by area. We can sort without fragmenting the model.
Demonstrating Technology’s Power and Potential During the Royalmount Mall Project
A Montreal Destination
The $7 billion Royalmount Mall shopping and entertainment project in Montreal, Canada, includes the construction of a European-style food hall. Called Le Fou Fou, this hall spans 35,000 square feet, incorporating 12 culinary concepts and multiple bars.
As the general contractor for the food hall, JCB Construction was tasked with the construction of this gourmet hall, which included complex architectural elements, blending urban and classic French design. It required detailed attention to both structural and aesthetic aspects.
The project team brought in Revizto in the midst of the BIM integration workflow.
JCB’s assistant superintendent notes, “It was admittedly a drastic transition in the middle of an ongoing project. That’s not normal for us, but it worked.”
Fast-Track Visibility
The use of augmented reality (AR), 3D visualization, and temporary object move features played a crucial role in enhancing project accuracy and delivery.
This was a fast track project. We didn’t have the time to wait when issues came up in the field, so we were giving the engineering team solutions using Revizto. The easy visibility and tools helped us avoid delayed responses. Something that might have taken three weeks could be decided in two hours.
Revizto was the ideal tool to help JCB field teams visualize workspaces in real time, navigate complex design issues, and optimize workflows by adjusting elements virtually before physical implementation, ensuring smoother project execution.
“Whether on a computer or iPad, navigation within Revizto is pretty much the same. Normally, when I switch from a program on the computer, it’s a little more challenging. Whereas in Revizto, there’s no loss of experience between the two.” — Assistant Superintendent, JCB Construction Canada
Drainage, Ducts and Potential Disconnects
Revizto was heavily leveraged by site teams for effective coordination and to address construction challenges efficiently. For instance, JCB believes that the mechanical rooms on the Fou Fou project would have been impossible to coordinate properly without Revizto or BIM in general.
“There are places where the team might have six layers of ventilation ducts. The field team needs to be able to visualize how these systems should be installed. With Revizto, we were able to send subcontractors a breakdown of the process, helping the superintendent dictate the critical steps.” — Assistant Superintendent, JCB Construction Canada
The project team also liked the ease of communication within the technology. For instance, another area of concern was related to the grease trap drainage network. The model indicated two connections instead of three.
“With Revizto, I was able to ask a question about the third drainage pipe and the team quickly realized that it was missing. This question early on saved considerable time and money. It’s one example among many.” — Assistant Superintendent, JCB Construction Canada
In another case, there was a concern about heat pump access.
We had a heat pump placed 20 feet in the air, and it needed to be accessible. So within Revizto, I was able to redesign the area to make the pump accessible while keeping all the prefabricated ducts in place. There are several locations where Revizto has allowed us to be creative and save the day for the client.
Feature Flexibility
Clash Automation
One of the challenges that JCB teams have realized in the past has been the inability to differentiate clash types, whether it's hard clashes, soft clashes, tolerances and clearances.
“With our previous solution, anything it touched was considered a clash. That’s problematic. With Revizto, we can choose the type of clashes model to model.” — Assistant Superintendent, JCB Construction Canada
Issue Tracker
Along with the flexible clash detection capabilities, all issues are tracked in real time and then filtered based on what information needs to be communicated and by whom within Revizto’s Issue Tracker tool.
“Tracking was impossible with our other solution. The ability to assign an issue to a subcontractor directly in the meeting is great.” — Assistant Superintendent, JCB Construction Canada
2D Integration
The 2D/3D overlay feature also made a large impact on the project. “The integration of 2D plans is a wonderful feature in that I can project it onto a 3D view, allowing me to visualize the architect's design intent with ease.” — Assistant Superintendent, JCB Construction Canada
Subcontractor and Sustainable Perspectives
The success of Revizto on recent projects has prompted the firm to add the Integrated Collaboration Platform to more of its contracts.
Our subcontractors don’t need a huge setup, the license is provided, the platform is easily downloadable, and it’s not complicated to use. I believe that every major project we could undertake in BIM would benefit from Revizto. Already, we estimate that we saved from $300,000 to $400,000 on a $20 million project, just with the integration of Revizto.
JCB Construction leadership also believes that BIM and Revizto will help its sustainability goals.
“We’re heading towards an era where carbon neutrality is essential. We want to be able to measure our environmental impact quickly and accurately. To do that, we have to have the tools that allow us to foresee and absorb this change in regulations. Revizto is part of that ecosystem. Already, it’s had a positive impact on every project where we use it. It’s a tool that we want to promote.” — Assistant Superintendent, JCB Construction Canada
* All images courtesy of LemayMichaud.
